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Marcos Ambrose’s winning NASCAR up for auction for the first time

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Australia’s first winning car in NASCAR competition, which Marcos Ambrose drove to victory in a Nationwide race at Watkins Glen International Raceway in 2008, has been put on the market for the first time.

The #59 STP Ford, which is considered an important part of Australian motorsport history, sat in storage in an old workshop in Charlotte North Carolina for more than a decade before being mechanically rebuilt last year and shipped to Australia.

The car is owned by Speedcafe.com founder Brett “Crusher” Murray who has relocated it to Queensland where it has been in storage and serviced.

The car is for sale through leading auction house Lloyds Auctions and collectors have until 7pm AEDT on November 28 to bid on the car which has already attracted major national and international interest.

Lloyds Auctions Chief Operating Officer, Lee Hames, described the car as one of the most significant pieces of the Australian motorsport history to be put on the market and admitted it had already attracted enormous interest.

“When you look at this car you would think you were looking at it in victory lane at Watkins Glen,” said Hames.

“Cosmetically it has not been touched and has every rub mark and dent from that incredible race which every Australian race fan remembers.

“The fact that it comes in those famous STP Racing colours made so famous by Richard Petty provides that little bit more romance.”

The STP Ford has not been touched cosmetically since appearing in victory lane at the Zippo 200 and still has all the major bumps and bruises as well as the remaining windscreen tear off strips that were unused during the race.

“It has been fun to have this car in the collection, but it is time for it to move on to its next owner,” said Murray.

“We had it rebuilt thanks to some NASCAR guys I had met and become friends with through Dale Earnhardt Jr in North Carolina.

“Mechanically we had to do some things to bring it up to scratch, but cosmetically it has not been touched. There are even some Gatorade splash marks still on the roof and windscreen.

“Owen Kelly, who enjoyed his own NASCAR career, helped me with the logistics to get it back here.

“The Charlotte-based guys sourced all the original 2008-spec parts, including the Roush Yates Engine bits and it is now almost identical to the car that rolled into victory lane at Watkins Glen in August 2008.

“I am just glad we have the car in absolute original condition and that we managed to get it back to Australia where hopefully it will be eventually be enjoyed by local fans either on track, in a collection or both.”

Ambrose said he was pleased to see the car back in Australia and hoped it sold to a locally-based fan.

“It is great that Crusher (Brett Muray) has held on to the car for all this time and that it has made its way back to Australia,” said Ambrose.

“I don’t get too emotional about this type of stuff, but it would be cool to have it remain in Australia because of its significance.

“It is quite amazing that the car looks as it did when we rolled it into victory lane.”

The car comes with a new set of mounted road-course racing slicks.

For video of the car in winning form click here

Footage from Watkins Glen

For more information on the auction click here

Available through Lloyd’s Auctions

NASCAR Championship Four grids dominated by drivers with experience and success in ARCA Menards Series platform

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The ARCA Menards Series has evolved and developed into the preeminent driver development series in stock car racing. The bridge between local and regional racing and the professional leagues of stock car series nationally, the ARCA Menards Series platform has seen dozens of drivers participate as they made their way up the ladder.

Of the 99 drivers that participated in the season openers at Daytona for the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, 86 of them had experience in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and/or ARCA Menards Series West. Thirty-seven of them have accumulated 132 total ARCA Menards Series wins and six championships, twenty-nine of them accumulated 93 total East wins and six championships, and twelve of them accumulated a total of 51 West victories and four championships.

All twelve drivers competing for national series titles at Phoenix Raceway have ARCA experience, and ten of them have wins within the ARCA Menards Series platform.

Chase Elliott made 12 ARCA Menards Series starts over three seasons, with one win (Pocono, 2013), six top-five, and eleven top-ten finishes. He also scored wins in what is now known as the ARCA Menards Series East (Iowa, 2012) and ARCA Menards Series West (Sonoma, 2016).

Brad Keselowski made three ARCA Menards Series starts, two in 2004 and one in 2006 for three different owners. Keselowski didn’t fare well in any of the three starts, with a best finish of 17th at Michigan in his final appearance. Keselowski is the son of 1989 ARCA Menards Series champion Bob Keselowski, and won ARCA-sanctioned super late model races at Toledo Speedway before moving up the ranks to NASCAR Gander Truck Series competition.

Joey Logano has four career ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit, and he’s won half of them (Rockingham, 2008, Pocono, 2009). His worst ARCA finish? Second, twice, at Talladega in 2008 and Daytona in 2009.

Denny Hamlin made two ARCA Menards Series appearances, one in 2004 at Talladega and the other at Nashville in 2005. He finished third in his debut at Talladega.

Chase Briscoe is the 2016 ARCA Menards Series champion. He won six times on his way to the championship, at Winchester, Iowa, Lucas Oil, Pocono, Chicagoland, and Kansas. He finished in the top five 14 times and had 18 top-10 finishes in 20 starts that season.

Austin Cindric has eight ARCA Menards Series starts, with one win (Kentucky, 2017). He has led laps in seven of his eight career starts. He also has two career wins in two ARCA Menards Series East starts, on the road courses at Virginia International and Watkins Glen.

Justin Haley began racing full-bodied stock cars in the Late Model Sportsman division at ARCA-sanctioned Toledo Speedway in 2013. He earned the first of seven top-five ARCA Menards Series finishes at the age of 15 in 2014. He has three series wins, at Springfield, Talladega, and Pocono. He is also the 2016 ARCA Menards Series East champion with two wins and 14 top-10 finishes in 14 starts.

Justin Allgaier is the 2008 ARCA Menards Series champion, taking the series title with an impressive three-race win streak to close the season. He has eight total series wins in 86 starts.

Grant Enfinger is the 2015 ARCA Menards Series champion. In 2014 and 2015, he opened the season with three consecutive wins. Enfinger has 16 total series wins in 95 appearances.

Sheldon Creed is the 2018 ARCA Menards Series champion, with four wins and 18 top-10 finishes in 20 starts. He also has one career ARCA Menards Series West win, on the dirt at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Zane Smith is the 2018 ARCA Menards Series runner-up and Bounty Rookie of the Year. He finished the season with four wins and finished in the top ten in 13 of his 20 starts.

Brett Moffitt has 10 career ARCA Menards Series East wins, and from 2009 through 2013 finished either second or third in the final series standings. He has 62 career starts, 34 top-five and 45 top-ten finishes.

CHEVY NCS AT PHOENIX 2: Alan Gustafson and Jeff Andrews Teleconference Transcript

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
PHOENIX RACEWAY
SEASON FINALE 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
NOVEMBER 2, 2020

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 9 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, AND JEFF ANDREWS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, met with media via teleconference to discuss the anticipation leading into the Championship Four race weekend at Phoenix Raceway, what it takes to prepare for Chase Elliott’s first appearance in the Championship Four, and more. Full Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: We are now going to be joined by Alan Gustafson and Jeff Andrews.
We will go ahead and start questions.

Q. Alan, this is Jimmie’s last race. I’m curious if there’s anything that he did or that the team did that you tried to emulate, especially in this kind of championship run?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Wow, that’s a great question.
Yeah, I try to be like Jimmie Johnson every day. He’s a really amazing individual, competitor. To think about one thing, it’s hard to say. But I think his tenacity, his never‑say‑die attitude is probably the biggest thing.
I can remember he told me a story one time. We were at Kansas Speedway. He was in the middle of his runs of the championships. I can’t remember what circumstance we were. We were racing. He said one of the biggest lessons he learned in his career, he started the Chase off really bad, I don’t know if they had crashes or DNF’s, thought they were out of it. He started racing with reckless abandon and ultimately won that championship. He was just describing the fact that you’re never out of it and you’ve got to race every race like it’s your last.
That stuck with me for a long time. It was a great lesson. That’s something that I’ll remember. I think his tenacity, just never‑say‑die attitude, his willingness to just cut loose and race as hard as he can race.

Q. Alan, how important was it to get a Hendrick and a Chevrolet into the finals? It had been a long drought since Jimmie’s last title?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: To me, yeah, I think it’s important. It’s always important. It’s what we do, right? I don’t know, this year specifically, I can’t say for Jeff, but for me, I just felt like we’ve been right on the cusp for so many years the last three years or so, we needed to get over the edge. You keep swinging at ’em, keep swinging at ’em, finally hit one.
Yeah, I think it was time. Certainly, there was some urgency from Mr. Hendrick, from Chevrolet, that we needed to be represented in the championship. I would say every year’s important, but certainly the one you’re in is the most.
JEFF ANDREWS: I think Alan answered the question well. Certainly, for Chevrolet we’ve consistently gotten to that Round of 8. Getting past that point into the Round of 4 has been very important for Mr. Royce and Jim Campbell and everybody at Chevrolet to get a car to Phoenix, compete for a championship. We were excited to do that, be a part of that for them.
Certainly, part of a greater effort in general from Chevrolet here in the last two years to get these teams together, specifically the Childress and Hendrick and Ganassi groups, get everybody working together on different initiatives, different projects, talking to each other.
I think what’s happened here in the last eight or nine weeks have been a culmination of that. There’s been a lot of working together to accomplish this goal of getting a car to Phoenix, so…

Q. Did you feel that sense of urgency from Mr. H that Alan mentioned?
JEFF ANDREWS: Absolutely. We left last year all very disappointed, and Mr. Hendrick let us know that he was disappointed. It was essentially one of our worst years in quite some time from a points position.
I don’t want to say there’s nothing worse, but in the past we’d go down to Homestead, to go down there and not be part of that, it’s just a totally different feeling after having been a part of it for so many years. To go down there, just kind of not be a part of that, go down there to run a race and be competitive, but for Mr. Hendrick as well, to put him back in the middle of that, we’re awful proud.
He’s been on the phone all night long. I was getting texts, I’m sure Alan was, at 1:30, 10 minutes to 2 last night. He’s excited. He’s pumped up. We’re happy to go down there, go to Phoenix and fight for him for that.

Q. Jeff, how evenly matched are the four that are competing for the championship, would you say?
JEFF ANDREWS: I think it’s an interesting question. I mean, certainly the Penske Fords have been good at that track, talking specifically about Phoenix. No doubt they will be good.
I think from our perspective, when we saw the schedule change, saw we were going to end up at Phoenix for the finale, I think we felt all along obviously we wanted to get a car there, but certainly knowing how Chase runs there, how good he and Alan are there, have been there in the past, that was one that came up on our radar pretty quick.
If we could get to Phoenix, I don’t even want to say we’ve got a shot, we are legitimate contenders. Alan and Chase run very well there. We’re excited to get out there.
Obviously I think the 11 car’s record speaks for itself through the years here. Personally, I’m excited we’re in it, of course. I think we’ve got a great Final 4 going into the Phoenix weekend. I think it’s going to be a great show.

Q. Jeff, you wanted all the Hendrick cars in. Is there any advantage to not being like Logano and Keselowski where you have to race a teammate when there’s only four running for a championship?
JEFF ANDREWS: I don’t know that there’s an advantage. Obviously our shop and Alan and the 9 team and those racecars, engines and things, are going to get a lot of attention here in the next three to four days. Not that we would have treated it differently. Given everything that’s on the line, sure there is going to be an extra effort here and long nights before we send haulers out the door on Thursday evening.
Yeah, I think certainly having a multitude of cars in obviously helps your chances when you’re there at the racetrack. Having one car in, certainly we have a lot of focus now, a lot of resources to put towards that one car here.

Q. Jeff, obviously after this weekend this will be Knaus’ final race before he steps into his new role. What legacy does he leave behind as a crew chief?
JEFF ANDREWS: Well, I think he leaves behind probably one of the greatest that will ever sit on top a pit box from his wins and accomplishments. I think for us, the people that work day in and day out with Chad, I mean, he’s an extremely strong leader. He has thrived at putting a young group of guys together, young drivers, putting a goal in front of them, building a true team environment. That’s something that Chad is really, really good at, in motivating his guys.
From our perspective, we hate to lose that depth on top of the pit box, kind of that strength in building a team. But certainly, that’s a trait that he’s going to bring to us out in the shops, putting groups together, making our group in the shop and making our competition group stronger, getting them focused, getting better racecars at the end of the day to Alan and the teams to go race with.

Q. Alan, this is your first appearance in the Championship 4. What do you think this week is going to be like, this weekend for you going into the race, maybe not knowing how this has worked before, what the experience is going to be like?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, it’s not my first actually. It’s my second.

Q. My bad. My notes are wrong. First with Chase then. What can your experience bring to Chase as he now shifts from an emotional race at Martinsville going into his first championship contention?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I don’t think you can really be prepared for it until you go through it. It’s certainly a different situation. He’s raced to transfer into the Final 8. He’s been in the Round of 8 now I guess, I don’t know, for the last three years or four years. He knows what it’s like to be in kind of that must‑win situation.
This is really no different. There’s a lot of focus on the four cars. That’s the majority of the focus from the press and the media and the TV and everybody around. Ultimately you’ve got to win. You don’t have to win, but most likely you’re going to have to win to be the champion.
There’s a lot of pressure that went through that. Going through this weekend, we can help prepare him for it. Yeah, it’s a unique experience. I think you have to go through it to really understand it and learn how to manage it.

Q. Alan, with all the years you’ve served as crew chief, you’ve competed against these other crew chiefs, maybe not Gabehart, but as you study yourself, any competitor studies their competition, is there anything that you’ve seen out of those three guys through the years of competing with them that you picked anything up or pushed you a little bit more to help you become even more successful?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think all of them are very talented guys. Off the top of my head, I’ve probably had the most battles or many situations with Paul. Paul is obviously very successful, has done a great job.
I think each one of the crew chiefs have their strengths, each one of the teams have their strengths, and they’re all different. Each competitor has a different area that they excel at. It’s going to be all about who can optimize their strengths the most, shield their weaknesses the most. It’s going to be an interesting part of the dynamic.
I think everybody kind of has tendencies, they have strengths and weaknesses. I think we all know what those are. We’ll do the best we can to compete and take advantage of them.
Yeah, I have a lot of respect for all those guys. Certainly, it’s extremely difficult to get here. You can’t do it unless you’re at the top of your game. Certainly, going to be great competition and looking forward to it.

THE MODERATOR: Alan, Jeff, thank you guys for joining us. We wish you the best of luck this weekend.

JEFF ANDREWS: Thank you.

ALAN GUSTAFSON: Thank you.

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

BRANDT Extends Partnership with JR Motorsports and Justin Allgaier

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JRM’s winningest sponsor-driver duo to return for sixth NXS season in 2021

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 2, 2020) – Today JR Motorsports announced that cornerstone partner BRANDT Professional Agriculture will return for its sixth season along with veteran driver Justin Allgaier behind the wheel of the No. 7 Camaro. Distinguished as JRM’s winningest sponsor, BRANDT will serve as primary partner on Allgaier’s Chevrolet for 20 races during the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

Founded in Central Illinois, BRANDT is one of the fastest-growing, family-owned companies in the United States and a leader in the agriculture industry. Specializing in innovative products and services to help growers get the maximum return on their crops, BRANDT currently supplies customers in 48 states and more than 60 countries.

“We have built an amazing partnership with Justin and the Earnhardt family at JR Motorsports,” said Rick Brandt, President and CEO of BRANDT. “Together we have had great success on the track and have established a unique platform to promote the agriculture industry and to grow our business. I look forward to closing out the 2020 season by securing our first Xfinity Series Championship! And I’m excited to continue this relationship in 2021.”

BRANDT has had a long-time presence in NASCAR, first partnering with Allgaier in 2011. Since the Illinois native made the move to JR Motorsports in 2016, Allgaier has scored 11 of the team’s 51 total victories, the most by a driver in the organization’s history.

“Over the past five years, we’ve been fortunate to build a very rewarding relationship with BRANDT, while highlighting the significance of the agriculture industry,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, JRM general manager. “As family-owned and operated businesses, we share a lot of the same core values. Winning means a lot to Rick (Brandt) and his employees, and we couldn’t be happier to go after more trophies with Justin in 2021.” 

During Allgaier’s tenure with JRM, he’s been a NXS title contender each year, advancing to the Championship 4 four out of the last five seasons. This year, the 34-year-old driver is in the hunt once again as one of only four competitors left vying for the 2020 NXS Championship. During the regular season Allgaier led a career-high 896 laps and earned three victories, including back-to-back wins at Richmond Raceway.

“I’m looking forward to being back at JR Motorsports next year and having the BRANDT relationship extend another year. We’ve become like family and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else,” said Allgaier. “I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together, not only from a production standpoint on the track and getting wins and being competitive week in and week out, but also being able to bring awareness to the agriculture industry and how important it is to everyday life. Our goal is to continue growing those successes as we battle for the championship this season and go for more wins next year.”

In addition to the 20 primary races, BRANDT will also have associate placement on the No. 7 Camaro for the remaining 2021 races. Primary sponsorship for Allgaier for the balance next season will be announced at a later date
ABOUT BRANDT:
A leading agricultural company, BRANDT serves growers and farmers around the globe. Founded in 1953 by Glen Brandt and his sister Evelyn Brandt Thomas to help Illinois farmers adopt new and profitable technologies, the company has experienced aggressive growth under the leadership of President and CEO Rick Brandt. BRANDT’s focus is providing the products and services that give growers the best opportunity for maximum return while building a stronger, healthier and more abundant food supply. For more information, visit BRANDT on the web at www.brandt.co.

ABOUT JR MOTORSPORTS:
JR Motorsports is the management company and racing operation for Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s 15-time Most Popular Driver and winner of 50 NASCAR-sanctioned races.  Now in its 19th year of overall competition, JR Motorsports races in multiple divisions, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series where it won championships in 2014, 2017 and 2018.  The company also competes in Late Model competition and owns four championships in regional late model divisions.  To learn more about the organization, its drivers and its sponsorship opportunities, visit www.jrmracing.com.

Jack Wood to Compete Full-Time for GMS Racing in 2021

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STATESVILLE N.C. (Nov. 2, 2020) – GMS Racing announced today that Jack Wood will pilot the No. 21 Chevrolet full-time for the team in the ARCA Menards Series East in 2021 as well as the full ARCA Menards Showdown schedule. Mardy Lindley will return to the team as crew chief.

“GMS is looking forward to this next chapter for our ARCA program,” said Mike Beam, president of GMS Racing. “Our ARCA team has accomplished amazing things these last two seasons and I’m confident Jack can take over and build on that success next season.”

The Loomis, CA native has competed part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West since 2019 and has collected one top-five and six top-10 finishes in seven starts this season. Wood will also be a part of the Drivers Edge Development program in 2021.

“I’m so thankful for the opportunity to compete with GMS in 2021,” said Wood. “To transition from a part-time schedule with our family-run team in the West series to running the East series full-time with a team like GMS who has won two consecutive East titles is awesome. I’m ready to get out there and learn and grow as a driver, but also to chase wins and a championship with this new team.”

About GMS Racing – GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series with drivers Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Tyler Ankrum and Zane Smith as well as part-time with David Gravel and Chase Purdy. The team also competes in the ARCA Racing Series with Sam Mayer. Since the team began in 2014, GMS Racing won the 2016 Gander Trucks Championship, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship as well as the 2019 ARCA East championship and has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https:/gmsracing.net

Winward Racing leads run of three Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams with top-10 Finishes Saturday in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Competition at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

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IMSA, Laguna Seca, October-November 2020. (Photo by Brian Cleary/bcpix.com)

MONTEREY, California. Winward Racing’s fourth-place finish led a run of three Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams in the top-10 Saturday in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Russell Ward and Nico Bastian co-drove the No. 4 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 to the fourth-place Grand Sport (GS) class result after battling in the lead pack throughout the two-hour race. In the weekend’s featured IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship two-hour and 40-minute race on Sunday, co-drivers Gar Robinson and Lawson Aschenbach improved four race positions to finish ninth in the GT Daytona (GTD) class in the No. 74 Riley Technologies Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Ward and Winward came into the weekend as the defending IMSA Pilot Challenge Laguna Seca race winners and, joined by co-driver Bastian in his debut on the 2.238-mile Monterey circuit, did all they could to secure the repeat victory.

Ward ran third for the majority of his race-opening stint with Bastian, also running in the top three early in his run to the checkered flag.

The No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss continued its run of 2020 consistency with a seventh-place finish Saturday. Mosing, Foss and the No. 56 Murillo team have finished in the top-10 in each of this season’s nine races to date, and moved to third in the Pilot Challenge GS standings with only the season-ending race at Sebring International Raceway in two weeks remaining on the 2020 calendar.

Winward Racing’s sister entry of co-drivers Alec Udell and Ward’s father, Bryce Ward, was the third Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing team to hit the top-10 on Saturday.

The No. 35 Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 and co-drivers Jim Cox and Dylan Murry, and the No. 65 Murillo Racing entry of Tim Probert and Kenny Murillo, each led a race lap Saturday. The No. 35 finished 13th, one spot ahead of the No. 65 in 14th place.

In Sunday’s WeatherTech Championship race, starting driver Robinson drove from 13th to ninth in his first career race at Laguna Seca.

Taking over from Robinson at the 45-minute mark, Aschenbach improved to eighth early in his race-closing stint. On a late restart after a yellow-flag caution period with 20 minutes to go, the Riley team called Aschenbach to the pits for a fresh set of tires.

The move needed another yellow to successfully play out, but the risk still payed off as Aschenbach crossed the finish line in ninth, the same position he and Robinson held most of the race.

Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams in both the IMSA WeatherTech Championship and IMSA Michelin Pilot series is the season-ending 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway, November 11 – 14.

Russell Ward, Driver – No. 4 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “The good to take out of this race is the fourth place. It’s just one step off the podium, where we want to be. It’s always a blast driving here. I love Laguna Seca, and it’s pretty demanding on the drivers. The tires fall off pretty quick, and you just have to adapt to stay ahead. I think we had a pretty good strategy. There’s not really much we could have done. The cars behind us took a little more risk and it paid off for them, but there’s not really a risk that we could have taken. Sometimes that’s the way it goes here in IMSA.”

Nico Bastian, Driver – No. 4 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “I’m a pretty lucky guy to have Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca on my calendar as a replacement. It wasn’t planned at the beginning, but I was lucky enough to have these two races where I could come to IMSA for the first time. I had a lot of fun, the racing in America is great, the team is great. Everything was perfect, except I really wanted to have a podium finish. At the end, P4 and P5 is not bad, but it’s not the reason I took the 12-hour flight from Europe here to America. I hope I will come back one day. I really enjoy it, and it would be nice to do more in America. It’s great racing here.

Bryce Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “It was a good race. I really enjoyed it. It was the first time I’ve been over and hour in the car, which is awesome. I felt really good on the start and the restart. I managed to bring the Mercedes-AMG GT4 in without a scratch on it, turned it over to Alec and he did a super job getting it home. I think we got it up to 10th, which was really good.”

Alec Udell, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “For me, the Mercedes-AMG GT4 was good. The conditions are always a little bit challenging at Laguna Seca, especially in the evening. You get the sun coming in and it’s challenging to see, guys are dropping wheels and there is sand and dust and dirt going all across the track which makes it abrasive on the tire. In that sense, I think we had a really good car. Overall, I’m happy with the car. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 is very good across a stint.”

Eric Foss, Driver – No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “I thought we had really good pace. We were one of the quickest cars at the end of the race. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 is just such a phenomenal car to drive. The balance is so good, and it was just really easy on the tires. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is known to be really hard on the tires, and our whole goal was trying to just manage the tire, and the car did a great job doing that. We’re looking forward to going into Sebring. We’re now one point ahead of the No. 35 car for third in the championship, and four points ahead of the No. 4 car. Unfortunately, we’re battling with two other Mercedes-AMG teams for third in the championship right now. I’d like to battle with other manufacturer cars, but at Sebring we’ll just do the best we can and execute and see where we finish.”

Kenny Murillo, Driver – No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “It was a really good experience to get back in the Mercedes-AMG GT4 after running other cars. The Mercedes-AMG is so driver friendly, it allows almost anyone to hop in and go fast. It gives you that confidence to go quick. Coupled with the Murillo Racing team, they always give you a good car, I’m really happy with the car’s performance and the team’s performance. The cards never really fell in our favor, strategy wise, we had the pace but couldn’t really race anybody. I was by myself for a good half of it. As a whole, the Murillo Racing team is leaving Laguna Seca very happy. It’s all going to come down to Sebring. That’s what we want, and we’re really excited for that.”

Lawson Aschenbach, Driver – No. 74 Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Hands down, we’re probably more excited about Sebring than any other track on the schedule. This was a difficult day for us, these things happen, that’s just the way it goes, but I thought we had some pretty good speed. The guys were good in the pits. Sometimes, in places like this where track position is so important, it’s just hard to do anything or move forward. All eyes are definitely on Sebring. I think everybody is kind of primed for that race. I think if we can have a repeat of our car at the July race, we’re going to be in really good shape there to win that one.”

‘Blessed girl’ Enders perseveres in unprecedented season

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Houston native sets mark for most championships by a female driver

LAS VEGAS (Nov. 2, 2020) – First female with four championships has a nice ring, but it wasn’t top of mind for Erica Enders entering what appeared to be a normal National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

But because of COVID-19, nothing has been normal. Two races were in the books when racing was halted until July because of the novel coronavirus. Now, nearly nine months and only 10 Pro Stock races later, Enders can wrap her mind around earning the distinction.

The Houston native, driving the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, added to her 2019, 2015 and 2014 Pro Stock championships in the Dodge NHRA Finals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Enders overtook Shirley Muldowney, who won Top Fuel titles in 1977, ’80 and ’82, and Angelle Sampey with Pro Stock Motorcycle championships in 2000, 2001 and ’02. A year earlier at Las Vegas, Enders earned the 150th professional category victory for a female driver. In 298 career races, she has 29 wins and 349 elimination-round victories.

“Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey mean a lot to me and I’m in good company with them,” said Enders, who picked up her first Pro Stock Wally in 2012 at Chicago.

Enders also joined Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), Don Prudhomme (Funny Car), Gary Scelzi (Top Fuel/Funny Car), Lee Shepherd (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) with four titles on the all-time list.

No one was as dominant in the 2014 and ’15 seasons as Enders, who won 15 races on the way to back-to-back Pro Stock world championships. In 24 races in 2015, Enders qualified No. 1 six times and started from the top half of the field 22 times in her Camaro. Two wins in the six-event Countdown to the Championship spurred Enders to the 2019 championship.

This season, Enders won the second race (Phoenix). Victories at Indianapolis and St. Louis followed the long layoff. She entered the finale with a 55-point lead over Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin Jr., who promptly lost their first-round matchups that handed Enders the championship. She raced to the final, defeating Kyle Koretsky’s Chevrolet Camaro for her series-high fourth victory.

“What an unbelievable day,” said Enders, who won for the sixth time at The Strip. “This place has been so good to me but I couldn’t do it without my team. I’ve not had the best year, but this is a lesson that you dig deep, you fight and pray with all the heart you have every single chase you get because you never know when it’s your last.

“Richard Freeman gave me this opportunity and I’m a blessed girl.”

Team Hardpoint Scores IMSA WeatherTech GTD Top 10 at Laguna Seca on Sunday

By
Official Release
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Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly Co-Drove the Audi R8 LMS GT3 In a True Team Effort Out West

MONTEREY, California (November 2, 2020) – Team Hardpoint earned a top-10 finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, finishing 10th in a hard-fought IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) race. Co-driver Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly teamed to drive the No. 30 GridRival/Team Hardpoint Audi R8 LMS GT3 in a condensed weekend that showed the heart and soul of the young team.

The challenges began with the opening practice on Saturday morning, when the car broke an axle leaving pit road. That cost the team most of that session and left Ferriol with just 10 laps in the car prior to Sunday morning’s qualifying.

Ferriol qualified and opened the race in 12th and ran his 45 minute-stint on the lead lap before the entire GTD field stopped for the first time under green. The Hardpoint crew made a flawless start, leapfrogging one position with the driver change, fuel and tire.

That set the table for an eventful stint for Pumpelly in the final one-hour, 55 minutes.

The sandy surface surrounding WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca places tire wear at a premium throughout a stint. On fresh tires, the Pumpelly and Audi combination were the fastest car on the track. Three laps into his first stint, Pumpelly turned the fastest GTD lap of the race and had cut as much as seven seconds into the team’s lead.

The end of the stint was less kind, however. Team Hardpoint made a strategy call to stay out longer than any other GTD team, hoping for a caution that never came. Though he climbed to seventh position, Pumpelly stayed on worn tires as much as 15 minutes longer than the competition and, when the final pit stop happened under green flag conditions with 53 minutes to go, Team Hardpoint fell a lap down in 12th place.

The first and only full course caution of the race didn’t come until just over 20 minutes remained in the race. Following the restart, Pumpelly quickly made up two spots to move into the top ten, and then with eight minutes remaining passed the leader on the track to get back to the lead lap.

Though running times that matched the leaders and were often faster, the two-hour, 40-minute clock expired before Pumpelly could gain any more positions.

“We had a lot of difficult circumstances going into the race. We lost basically 50 percent of practice availability which left us with just one session,” Ferriol said. “We came together for practice two and learned as much as we could going into the race. We would have liked a better result, but we can’t beat each other up. We still managed a top 10.”

Team Hardpoint heads to Sebring International Raceway for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, November 11 – 14. The Michelin Endurance Cup race, still part of the full-season WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, was a late addition for Team Hardpoint’s 2020 plans and will mark the team’s debut at the 68th annual event.

About Hardpoint Motorsports:
Hardpoint Motorsports was founded by Rob Ferriol in 2018 with the vision of combining his experience as a successful entrepreneur with his passion for racing. The Hardpoint brand brings together three distinct entities into one motorsport ecosystem. Team Hardpoint is the brand’s racing arm, providing its partners and customers opportunities to compete, brand, and promote in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona class and the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Hardpoint Outfitters helps other teams and drivers extract more value from their motorsport investment by bundling branding, activation, and digital marketing services into customized turnkey packages, including design, apparel, hospitality, and social media management. The Hardpoint Paddock Foundation is the newest element of the ecosystem, created as a charitable foundation to support out of work paddock workers through the COVID-19 shutdown. As the shutdown comes to an end, the 501(c)3 Foundation is expected to grow into a more sustained model of providing vocational and educational support services to the professional sports car paddock community. More information on all of the Hardpoint Motorsports enterprises can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

“Blue-Collar Day” Nets DiBenedetto a 10th-Place Finish at Martinsville

By
Official Release
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After running in mid-pack for most of Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team worked on their Mustang, hit on some speed and surged forward to finish 10th. It was their second-straight top-10 and their 10th of 2020.

DiBenedetto started the 500-lapper at the Wood Brothers’ home track from 12th place, and ran mostly inside the top 15 for the first Stage before ending that run in 16th place.

In Stage Two, it was more of the same as he once again finished 16th.

Then, as the third segment of the race began to unfold, the situation began to improve. With 135 laps to go, DiBenedetto moved into 14th place. Three laps later he was 13th, and with 70 laps to go he was 12th.

With 47 laps remaining, he moved into the top 10 and except for a couple of exchanges, ran there until the checkered flag fell.

“We kind of missed it on the set-up,” DiBenedetto said. “There were some things we would have changed if we had practice, so we were kind of stuck with what we had.

“But, in what I’d call a “blue-collar day’ we worked on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang, got it the best it could be and got a top-10 out of it.”

DiBenedetto said that’s what a good race team needs to do.

“When you can have what looks like it’s going to be a bad day and make a top-10 out of it, it shows the progress we’re making with this team,” he said. “We’re getting better.”

With Sunday’s race setting the field for the Championship Round of the Playoffs, DiBenedetto said he had to be careful racing around drivers trying to advance in the playoffs.

“I tried to be really aware of their situations,” he said, adding that there are risks to his team in racing around drivers in desperate circumstances. “I didn’t want to do something that would mess up our day, and I also didn’t want to interfere with the outcome of the playoff battle.”

The No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang did have some close calls, including one at the finish line when Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch spun as Harvick made a last-ditch attempt to secure a spot in the final four. DiBenedetto moved high, then low, to motor by Harvick and preserve his top-10 finish.

“There was a lot of smoke when I came off Turn Four, but I was able to get by him,” he said.

DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team remain 14th in the Cup Series points standings, one point behind William Byron in 13th place and 11 points behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer.

The finish at Martinsville, specifically the runner-up run by Ryan Blaney, clinched the 2020 Manufacturers’ Championship for Ford Motor Company. It was Ford’s second crown in three years, and it’s the first for the Mustang since it joined the Cup Series last year. Mustang drivers have 18 wins so far this season and have one more chance in next Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Eddie Wood said he salutes all the drivers and teams that were a part of the championship effort.

“It’s a great accomplishment, and with two Team Penske Mustang drivers in the Final Four at Phoenix, hopefully there will be another big trophy in the Ford camp a week from now,” he said.

About Motorcraft:

Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Omnicraft:

Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visit www.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center

Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.

CORVETTE RACING AT WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA: Another Runner-Up for GTLM Champions Garcia, Taylor

By
Official Release
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· Garcia, Taylor take second consecutive runner-up finish
· Chevrolet on verge of clinching GTLM Manufacturers championship
· Technical infraction spoils run for Gavin, Milner

MONTEREY, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2020) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor recorded their eighth podium finish of the season Sunday as the pairing finished second in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class of the Monterey Sports Car Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Garcia and Taylor placed second in the category with their No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R for the second race in a row. The result also sealed the GTLM Drivers and Team titles in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

In addition, Chevrolet moved into position to clinch the GTLM Manufacturers title as long as either of Corvette Racing’s two mid-engine Corvettes starts the final race of the year – the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in two weeks. It would be the third time since 2014 that the program has swept the full-season GTLM championships in the same year.

Corvette Racing’s second C8.R – the No. 4 of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner – finished a hard-fought third in class Sunday. Unfortunately, the car was found to be out of technical compliance in post-race inspection and was relegated to sixth place.

Sunday’s race featured a myriad of tire strategies on the dusty and slippery Laguna Seca circuit. After starting on pole position, Taylor led for the first 16 laps before making the first of three pit stops in the No. 3 Corvette. He cycled back through to second place, which is where he and Garcia stayed most of the day.

Gavin and Milner finished on track in the same position the No. 4 Corvette started. With the team deciding to run a slightly longer opening stint, Gavin pitted from the lead five laps after Taylor as the No. 4 team eyed a potential two-stop strategy.

Those plans went by the wayside just past the halfway point. Garcia took over the second-place No. 3 Corvette with 86 minutes left in the two-hour, 40-minute event and attempted to regain the lead from Earl Bamber’s Porsche 40 minutes later by going a lap longer before making the final stop. Traffic stymied Garcia’s progress before he took his last service. Milner, who got in the No. 4 Corvette with 82 minutes left, came in a lap later and cycled back to fourth.

A full-course caution with 25 minutes remaining brought the top four GTLM cars – both Corvettes and both Porsches – together for a late-race dash. Milner came out the biggest winner, moving from fourth to third with a nifty move inside the final 15 minutes, and he set the fastest GTLM lap of the race shortly after the pass.

Meanwhile, Garcia got as close as a half-second to the leader but settled for second and ultimately the class championship.

The final round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring from Nov. 12-14 at Sebring International Raceway.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM: “Today was a good race, and we maximized everything we had. We lost track position to the 912 at the start, and it was tough to get that back. The safety car mixed things up a little bit and it gave me a chance to get closer, but they were able to open up the gap a little bit. The pace was very fast, and I couldn’t use the traffic in my favor. I pressured as much as I could, but they didn’t make any mistakes. Maybe I had one or two chances where I could have gone for it, but it wasn’t the right time or place to try something crazy. In that situation there is nothing you can do. It wasn’t easy to pass on this track. There was a ton of pressure on the crew guys to do three separate tire changes when we were relying on tires to be finished instead of fuel. I think we ran a perfect race. Unfortunately for us the 912 did, too. There was nothing I could do, and that’s why I congratulate them.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM: “It was a difficult race today with the tire wear and traffic that we expected. We can be happy with the result, especially not having been on this track before with the C8.R It continues to show the value of the simulator work we do. We will take this good momentum on to Sebring and hopefully close out the season with another strong run there.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “We were a little up and down with pace during the day. At the end, Tommy drove his last stint really well and was strong. My first stint was about managing the tire and looking after everything in thinking about how far we needed to go in the stint. But things were constantly developing and changing throughout, so we had to be flexible with the strategy. We hit a bit of a rough patch at that first stop. I had to go through some GTD traffic before the first stop, and that lost us some time. We didn’t necessarily get the rub with the traffic today, but as things turned out we got into that final 25 minutes in good position. Tommy drove well after the caution, and the cooler track temperatures seemed to suit our car.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “This race and this track always provide some tricky conditions with tire degradation for everyone. Trying understand the best strategy is always a head-scratcher early in the weekend. As the race plays out, it becomes more and more obvious what the right decision was. We had a good day going, for sure. We called an audible on our original plan and ended up going to a three-stop strategy, which I ultimately think was the right thing to do. More importantly, we were keying off what the BMWs were doing since they are the ones closest to us in the championship. All in all, we covered them and had a good strategy for the race anyway. I was super happy with the balance of the Corvette, and the pace in the car at the end was really strong. Olly drove more than he was expecting to, and he did an awesome job in those two stints.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

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